Either she's stupid or desperate to offer her life for a fucking coward like him.

Her brother sits there, scowling but says nothing. He makes no move to stop her, not that he can with his ribs more than likely busted. Ricardo Salvatori's lack of urgency gives me even more reason to kill him.

I push the gun against his precious sister's temple. The fruity scent of her soft perfume infiltrates my nose. She smells just as sweet as she looks. I wonder if she tastes the same.

The thought is quickly shaken off. This is no time to be thinking about that. Not when someone has to pay. Ricardo's life or hers. That's the only way this will play out. My free hand slides into my pocket and I pull out a coin.

If an innocent's life is in my hands, I rather leave it up to chance.

I flip the coin into the air and catch it. Opening my palm, I glance down at the choice that has been decided.

My arm wraps around her waist, pulling her into me. It's a shame... such a pretty little thing shouldn't give her life away; sibling or not. I cock the gun against her skin.

My lips trace over her ear lobe. I fight the urge to nibble at her skin. She's tempting. Way too tempting and far too innocent looking for a beast like myself.

"Say goodbye," I whisper in her ear.

I aim the gun back at Ricardo in one swift movement and shoot.

He screams in pain. His sister fights to get loose. Her ass pushes against me, stirring my cock to life. My grip tightens on her, keeping her from causing more of a disruption in my fucking pants.

"What the fuck, boss?" Vincenzo's voice calls from the doorway. I'm not sure how much he saw, not that it matters. He doesn't call the shots. I do.

I smirk, shrugging my shoulders. "Wanted to see how far this coward would allow his own sister to go."

Killing her, or any innocent for that matter isn't an option. Not for me at least. I might be a monster, but even monsters have limits.

Ricardo's spouting out curses I'm purposely choosing to ignore. He's alive and I'm sure she's finally noticed now that she's stopped wriggling in my arms.

"You're willing to give your life and he's willing to sacrifice you for himself," I tell her, "Some family."

My grip loosens around her and she drops to her knees on the carpet. Her head lifts as she looks in Vincenzo's direction. "You... wh- how would you betray us?"

Vincenzo glances away from her, unable to meet what I can only assume is a sad gaze. "He's family. If I have to play a part to infiltrate those who betrayed him, I will."

"What are you going to do with us?" She asks, bowing her head.

I chuckled. "Him? Nothing. He's a worthless coward. He can rot remembering how much of a piece of shit he is for allowing you to give your life away."

"Fuck you," her brother spat.

I aimed the gun at her, shutting him up. "You, my dear princess, were the one who decided to trade your life for his. Unless Ricardo here changes his mind."

"Go to hell, you piece of shit." He looked at his sister. "I told you to leave and even now you still sit here."

"If I run they'll kill us both."

At least now I know who's the smart one in the family.

She might be bowing her head, but I can see the tear trailing down her pink cheeks. "I'm sorry, Ricardo.

"Get up, princess," I usher her with my gun. "Get her in the car, Vincenzo."

"Wait, what?" Vinny asks.

My gaze snaps to him. "You heard me, get her in the car. Now."

He moves over and helps her up. He's careful, way too careful than he needs to be. She might be an innocent but she's still a Salvatori. Vinny holds his arm inches away from her shoulder to keep her steady if need be. Was there something going on between the two?

I ignore the thought and get back to business. Looking at her brother, I take a step toward him, kneel and I press the tip of my gun to his wound. He grits his teeth, trying to mask the pain.

"You're going to regret this," I tell him.

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" he sneered.

A laugh leaves my mouth. The poor sucker."Hope you remember all the good times you had because, by the time I'm done, you'll barely recognize her."

I stand and give him one last kick to the ribs. "Pathetic."

My feet move backward toward the door. There's no way in hell I'd turn my back on the coward, even if he is beaten and bruised.

You never take your eyes off the enemy.

It's a lesson my father once instilled and I'll take it to my grave, along with everything else he taught.

When I close the office doors, I catch Vinny by the wall. His hands are firmly pressed on either side of the woman. She doesn't look at him, or me for that matter. Her gaze is solely focused on one of the dead bodies nearby.

"Maybe we can grab some of your stuff," he says. His tone is gentle, meant only for her.

"Not happening. Let's go." I click the safety on my revolver and reach behind, tucking it into the waistband of my pants.

"Where are we going?" she asks, sniffling. Her palm rubs against the corner of her puffy red eye.

I didn't think she'd been crying that much. Then again, I wasn't really paying much mind to her face. And I don't want to. My gaze moves forward. I walk past the two of them, listening as Vinny follows behind and her feet drag.

"Are you going to kill me?"

I spin so fast on my heels and stalk toward her. She's rooted to the floor. The tears do nothing to hide those sterling silver eyes. And I find myself at a loss for words.

I shake my head, trying to regain my thoughts. "Then why are we—"

"You're asking too many questions, princess. Just keep walking. You'll know when we get there." Turning back, I head for the doors.

She's dangerous. A distraction like the moon above, easy to get lost in and even harder to find a way out of.

And I already can't stand her.

The ride home is peaceful. From the rearview mirror, I can see her perfectly. She's quiet and focuses on the blurring buildings as we speed down the highway. I'm itching to take this fucking mask off. But I can't. Not until we get back to my place.

I take the seven exit and down the backroads. After several streets, I follow the winding road up the hill. Three houses occupy different spots before we reach the top of the hill, where my home resides.

The mansion is secluded, away from the city just the way I like it, and yet still close enough to keep tabs on my territory. Iron gates open and I drive right in until we reach the front. I hop out, slamming the car door behind me. Rounding the car, I catch Vinny helping the princess out.

A scoff leaves my lips. It's disgusting how gentle he is with her. Though, he'd done the same before... with my sister. I swallow down the memory and climb up the steps. I push through the front doors, tilting my head back as I breathe in the familiar scent of sandalwood. Home.

"What should I do with her, boss?" Vinny asks.

I don't turn in their direction. "Bring her to the guest room and lock her in. She's my prisoner now."

Vinny doesn't question me, thankfully. He knows better than to do so when others are around. I crack my neck. First the left side, then the right, and head off to my office.

I need to collect my thoughts. Figure out where to go from here. My plan was to kill Ricardo and send De Luca a message that he was next. But now... now Ricardo's still alive. I'm hoping he'll realize his mistake and want his sister back safe. And if he does, I can use her to get to De Luca seeing as the Salvatori and the De Luca are partners now from what I've gathered over the past year.

Stepping inside the office, I don't bother with the lights or the curtains. My feet are on autopilot in this room. They know where to go and what to avoid. I plop down on the chair and pull the mask up and off my face, tossing it on the desk.

Revenge was so much easier when I wasn't this close to getting it.

I spent months in hiding and then the rest rising back into this world from the fucking ashes with families still loyal to the Accardi name.

And the most important of them all is...

"Vinny," I say noticing as he takes up space between the doorframe. I grab the scotch on my desk and move it closer. "Tell me something, when you informed me about the Salvatori and those who resided in the household, why was she never mentioned?"

"Aria didn't seem to be an issue."

"Aria." My fingers tap against the wood as I try to control the tone of my voice. So that's her name. "Is there something I should know about before I let her stay?"

"We're seriously keeping her?" He asks stepping inside and taking a seat across from me. He drops his feet up onto my desk, sliding one of the empty glasses over to me.

"She offered her life for his," I tell him like it's no big deal because it isn't. "Now answer the question."

My elbows press to the desk as I lean closer. "Is there something I should know about?"

"Other than the fact that I think she's too naive for someone who's been in this world all her life? No."

"Nothing going on with you and her?" I shouldn't care, but it'd ruin future plans I could have. At least the shows I could put on to make her brother squirm.

He draws his eyebrows together and shakes his head, letting out a laugh. "I'll admit my time with her made me slightly fond of her but more in the means to protect her like an older brother."

A scoff leaves my lips as I pour us both a glass and slide one over. "Better you than the shit one she has I guess."

"Yeah," he wraps his hand around the glass and raises it to his lips. "What are we going to do with her?"

I swirl the drink in my hand. "Honestly, I have no fucking idea. The sooner her brother realizes his mistake the better. I'm sure she doesn't want to be here as much as I don't want to keep her. But I'm hoping once he asks for her back, I can strike a meeting of some sort with De Luca since he likes to fucking hide."

"So in the meantime, she's just stuck here?"

"Can't exactly let her out unless you're willing to go with her."

"I used to take Carmeline to the city."

"She's also my prisoner, Vinny. We don't want her to get any ideas. She's here for a reason. I can't have her thinkings she's meant to stay here forever," I remind him and take a sip of my drink.

"See this is why I'm just the muscle. I don't have the ability to be that big of a dick to a woman."

"Then don't think of her as one." I smirk, though I'm not sure if I'm telling him or reminding myself of this as well. "Aria Salvatori is simply collateral. Nothing more."

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total ONC word count: 4,306

thank you so much for reading along! ❤︎